Kimba, as a dentist, do you have any feedback on how to best brush baby teeth (we use the little finger glove brush from Earth's Best without any toothpaste atm) and whether fluoride drops make a difference? My husband and I both have really weak teeth and it seems like we get cavities, root canals etc really easily and i'd like to do anything we can to help her have healthy teeth for her lifetime.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Oooh, there is so much I could talk about, I will try not to go too nuts! :)

1. Try to make sure your teeth are taken care of (bacteria that causes cavities passes from mother to baby) 2. Ask your dentist or physician about fluoride varnish (done 3x per year once baby has teeth) 3. Find out if your community receives fluoridated water and consider supplements http://www.ada.org/3088.aspx#dosschedule4. Don't let baby sleep with a bottle5. Brush baby's teeth with a soft toothbrush or finger brush (toothbrush bristles seem better at removing plaque) 6. I am going to consider using Spiffies (http://www.spiffies.com/) after feedings when I am not brushing his teeth. I am not sure I believe they work, but they have xylitol which also helps prevent caries. 7. If you are having trouble physically getting in there and brushing, a knee-to-knee position might help. http://www.ohiodentalclinics.com/curric ... 20Knee.jpg

I think I should also add something about breastfeeding, since it seems like a lot of us are doing that. Breastfeeding is better for baby's mouth, but you can still get decay from breastmilk. In addition to not putting the baby to bed with a bottle of formula, the baby shouldn't be put to bed with a bottle of breastmilk. Also, decay can happen if co-sleeping and the baby kind of hangs out at the breast for extended periods of the night. The milk pools in there around the teeth. For early childhood caries (when they have cavities and are still very young), you usually see cavities first on the top teeth (even though they have been in for less amount of time than the bottom teeth) because the tongue helps protect the bottom teeth.

Thanks for all of the tips. Her first two teeth were just drooling and chewing and maybe like one afternoon of fussiness. She's really having a hard time this go around though, and is fighting a cold that all three of us have had now. It's nothing major, but on top of the teething, I think she's feeling pretty poopy. Wanting to nurse all the time, and then finding it hard because of congestion. We did ibuprofen last night and tonight, with lots of chewing/nursing/cuddles during the day today. She's really not awful or anything, but normally she's a pretty happy baby, so the crankiness is a bit strange.

The clove numbed me (I tried some first) a little, CC, so it might've helped her some too. She really really really hated it though. Several minutes afterward, I could see her trying to get the taste out of her mouth still, even after some bites of biscuit and blueberry and of course, water.

Mostly just experimenting during the day. Sometimes her diaper wipes hit the spot, other times chewy toast or this weird British things called Bickiepegs. Yesterday, she was chewing on some silicone spatula/scraper thing. Oh my lordy, the drool...I think we used 19 bigs today!

How old were your kids the first time you went out and left them with grandma or a sitter, etc. for a few hours? The opportunity is going to present itself while we're at my folks, but I'm having a hard time with the thought of actually leaving her. /cry

The man and I would love to see Spiderman, but I'm not sure I could enjoy myself yet.

Oh, Carlos was pretty young, maybe a couple months? I can't remember exactly. I left him with my mom. I wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving him with a sitter though. Since then I have left him with my mom quite a few times. We even got to go to the wavepool! It was awesome. My mom doesn't live in my state though, so it only works if she is visiting here or we are visiting there. I just pump in my car while my husband drives. We left him with a sitter once at maybe 3.5 months, I think. She was really good.

Refinnej, the first time we left E was for 2 hours with a friend on my birthday... He was five months old. The second time was with his grandparents when he was almost 10 months. I found it really hard as well!

The Magician was like 3 weeks old the first time I left him with someone other than my husband (my mother in law).

We left Leela with a hired (non-family) sitter in Ga when we visited when L was 10 weeks. Its really easy at that point, they go to sleep for most of it and don't have anything like separation anxiety. The two sitters we used were great but pretty much just put her to sleep for as long as they could and played Angry Birds or Words with Friends. It would be harder now, bc she gets into everything and requires some vigilance and also has to be kept out of the dogfood by force :)

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

we have a silicone toothbrush thing that wolverine LOVES. He wants to be rubbing his gums with it all the time. I am guessing a regular brush is better but he hates when I put things into his mouth and wants to do everything himself. I figure we can start with that and move to a better brush later on for a propper brushing.

You should all just move to Portland and hire me as your sitter...I've got experience with just-home-from-the-hospital twins, juggling (NOT LITERALLY) a newborn from one week and his toddler sisters, I can clean poop off the floor while soothing a tiny baby and dealing with a four-year old tantrum, and I am really good at convincing kids to eat vegetables. And I don't even know how to play Words With Friends.

_________________"No one with hair so soft and glossy could ever be bad at anything." - Tofulish

The first time I left Walter with my mother was a few weeks after his first birthday, and then only because I HAD to go to mr. mitten's work holiday party. I was really anxious and left the party early, but I am a crazy person because he was fine. In the last six months we've found a babysitter we really like (Walter loves her--he gets excited when she comes over and cries when she leaves!) and have gone on a few dates, which is refreshing and necessary. Go for it!!

The hard part of leaving E, for me, wasn't finding someone to do it-- I had offers from many corners. It just didn't appeal to me at all when he was small, and in some ways seemed like more work. Especially because I hated pumping with him so much.

Re: teeth, I wish we'd started brushing E sooner. We waited til he was like 18 months old (can't remember why) and he got a cavity probably as a result. I've already started brushing M's, with a smudge of fluoride paste on a small rag.

We just left Ada for the first time on my birthday. So a day before 14 months. But, she was sleeping. We joined a babysitting coop so one of the moms in it just came over and hung out. I felt better knowing she has a kid the same age and wouldn't have a problem rocking Ada back to sleep if necessary. Now that I have gotten to know some of the other moms in it better and Ada has played with the other babies a bunch I'll probably try to leave her during a playgroup for a little bit to test things out.

Boy, I feel like an awful mom. I've already spent three nights away from Will! He spent two of those with my husband and the third with my sister. My sister has watched him a few hours once or twice, but she lives 10 minutes away and Will loves his cousins. Also I went back to work at 6 weeks, so I had to get used to a sitter much sooner than I would have liked.

W left Grey with my mom when he was 2-3 weeks old. He started daycare at 9 months and a couple weeks ago I left him with my neighbor. I am thinking about going back to work so he can go to daycare and interact with more kids. He seems to really like older kids and learns a lot from them.

Here is my question. How do I get him to like the stroller. He used to like it, now every time I out him in he screams. It is awful, he arches his back and acts like I am killing him. Once we get rolling he is fine. I don't know why he hates it. We always go paces he likes, I let him have snacks and toys while he is in there. What am I doing wrong?

Between 9-10 months Lorelei went through a phase where she arched her back for the car seat, stroller, and high chair and caused a big fuss about being in the stroller. It passed remarkably quickly. I don't think it lasted more than 2 weeks. I'm pretty sure it's just a normal phase.

Well, the arching of the back in anything that constrains him has been going on for several months. The stroller started maybe 6 weeks ago. The high chair is a bit more recent, maybe 3 weeks and the car seat, I dunno since he was 2 weeks old. Yes, he could arch his back then.

Eta: the crib, oh man, if I out him in the crib so I can do something crazy like wash my hands, he has a total meltdown.

I am thinking he doesnt like it because he wants to crawl or practice walking (he is super close to walking). But to get to town it is a mile walk so he has to go in the stroller. I keep trying to explain how we are going somewhere fun and to see his friends, etc. hopefully he will soon understand. I cannot ergo him that far especially when it is 95 degrees and we live at the top of a hill.

Whenever I would say that I couldn't wait for poopiebaby to walk, people would ALWAYS say "oh, haha, you're going to change your mind once he starts!" in a super condescending tone. Guess what? Walking was the best thing that ever happened to us. Those people clearly never had babies who hating being put down EVER and wouldn't tolerate a stroller.

Those were the same people who said I would miss the days before he could talk, and the days before he ate solid foods, etc etc. Those finger-wagging, "just you wait!" know-it-alls? They were wrong. Sure, enjoy every stage, because they each fly by faster than the last, but don't let other people tell you what you're allowed to look forward to, or what will make your life better. Nearly every new development has made my life progressively easier - so take THAT, people who want to sound like you've mastered some secret level of parenting superiority that I couldn't possibly imagine yet. You suck.